This weekend, Merritt and I worked on some pillow blanks for Books, Bears, and Bonnets, Inc.. When things get crazy in life, I find it carthartic to sew for a good cause. Somehow, it takes my mind off all the petty problems that I'm dealing with and helps to put things in perspective.

Whenever I'm overworked and stressed, I shop. It's therapeutic, and I always feel less cranky afterwards. Here's a quick recap of my last couple of weekends...

May 12th 2007: Janome Sew Mini. This little beauty's name is Aiko. I bought her because I needed something portable (translation: Joyce and Ulla are fatties) to take with me to a quilting class (which I've yet to find time for). Aiko weighs in at a mere 5 lbs!!

May 19th 2007: Singer 57817 . Her name is Merritt. I've been looking for a serger, and due to unforseen circumstances, I ended up purchasing this little gem. She was hidden in a case, high up on a shelf at the local op shop. The lady who climbed up the ladder to get her for me, handed the case to me, and fell off the ladder as she descended. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I didn't need another sewing machine.

Along with Ulla and Joyce, the addition of Aiko and Merritt makes four. Yes. Four sewing machines in my craftroom. Oy vey.

A mysterious envelope arrived in yesterday's mail. It was from my mama. This is what I found in the envelope!!!

Unbelievable. I've been bugging my mama to take up a hobby. Nothing seemed to stick. Crochet? Nope. Quilting? Nope. Knitting? Hell no! Sometime in early Spring, I sent her a book on jewelry-making techniques, a set of tools, some beads and stuff. There you have it. I think she has found something she enjoys! Here's a happy coincidence. As I was about to toss out the envelope, I noticed that the 2 cent stamps depict Navajo jewelry!!! I'll take that as a good omen!

This weekend, I had a blast making pasties for my swap partner (who happens to be a pasties virgin). Her requests were pretty simple. She likes stars, and she's sorta curious about feathers. Voila! Glass beads and sequins for the star pasties (OMG, they were a pain to work on) and marabou feathers with slivers of shiny acrylic for the feathery pasties! I hope she has fun with them!

The unthinkable has happened. I finally figured out how to crochet and read crochet patterns!!! Being ambitious (per usual), I decided that my first real crocheted project would be an amigurumi of sorts. May I present, the happy little shroom! This little dude took me less than 2 hours to work up. Soon, it will be traveling to a new home. Bye-bye little mushroom!